This is a 28'sloop designed by Carl Shumaker and built by Tillotsen (TPI) in Warren, Rhode Island. Features- Fin keel, spade rudder, roller furling self-tacking jib, full battened main with lazy jacks and "Quick-Vang". She has a large cockpit, nice cabin but no standing head room and a 9 horse, one cylinder diesel(Yanmar). This s a sailors boat, fast and very responsive. She is also a beauty.

This is a great daysailer or coastal cruiser. I get compliments from others sailing on less attractive boats (i.e., most boats) all the time.

There are just a few issues with the boat. First, and obvious, there is a lot of varnished wood. And a lot of the wood is in places that make maintenance tough due to small spaces, etc. Second, the hull gives high moisture readings due to the balsa core. TPI claims that this is okay, but be aware. The boats that were manufactured with the standard keels - not with the torpedo or winged versions - such as mine are rather tippy if the wind is gusty. So, reef early. Finally, the scrimped hull has a funny tendency to flake off bottom paint. I have used Interlux to the letter according to their instructions and it still flakes. There must be a way but I have not yet found it.

The boat is terrific fun. I would recomend it to anyone looking for a great sailer that will not be expected to go into open ocean. I have a Thetford porta potti that is affixed to the deck in the forward cabin that can be taken out on deck if we sleep in the forward cabin. This works well. But, the boat is not designed for open ocean so look elsewhere for that.

I took delivery of this new boat in April, 2006. It has exceeded my expectations. It's beautiful, fast and easy to single hand. I have logged 1100 nautical miles in each of the last three years, mostly day sailing and Wednesday night Jib & Main racing with a crew of 1 or 2.

We crossed Lake Michigan in August 2007 in this boat and were caught in a tremendous thunderstorm where winds exceeded 80 mph and waves were 30 feet and greater. The boat took all of that without a problem. The two cylinder Yanmar diesel with sail drive ran for more than 19 hours on 6 gallons of fuel, running at just enough rpm to keep way on. I wrote a story about this experience titled "The Ghost Ships will have to wait" and you can find it, at present, at www.alerionexp.com.

The Hoyt Jib Boom makes for very easy sailing as the jib is self tending. We do run a 155 genoa in light air races but prefer the jib on the boom for all around sailing. The boat takes a puff nicely and generally will travel at half the speed of the apparent wind up to 7+knots. It points high, between 30 and 40 degrees apparent wind.

I never take it out and not have another sailor or power boater holler over, "Pretty boat. What kind is it?"

I have had no problems thus far, knock on wood, and if I ever replace it, it will be with another Alerion, perhaps the new 33.

The manufacturer, Pearson Composites, has now gone to a dealer network and if you get in touch with Pearson in Rhode Island they'll direct you to a nearby dealer.